Response from Berlin

It will be Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s first official visit to Ankara on October 30, shortly after the recent visit of German Foreign Minister Johann Wedeful. Berlin has been keeping a low profile since Friday, when the visit was officially announced, and today, in the standard government briefing.

In the government briefing, emphasis was placed on the fact that mostly bilateral issues will be discussed and that the focus will be on the meeting between Mertz and Erdogan, as mentioned by Mr. government representative Stephen Meyer, while a meeting of the German chancellor with representatives of the Turkish opposition is not expected.

He also refrained from giving further information on the issue of the sale of Eurofighter fighter jets to Turkey – given that Germany is a co-producer country. The chancellery has remained sparing in its comments on this issue in recent days, although the relevant pre-agreement for the sale of Eurofighter to Turkey has already been given the green light and all data suggests that Germany has already lifted – some time ago – its reservations.

Soft tones for the rule of law – Security is a priority

Regarding the burning issues of human rights and the rule of law, as well as the imprisonment of the elected mayor of Konpolis, Ekrem Imamoglu, the comments from the chancellery are restrained, as Berlin simply refers to the principle of a fair trial and the rule of law.

Despite the low tones, it is certain that this particular visit is of critical importance for Berlin, with Mertz now having a basically positive agenda for Turkey due to its pivotal role for the Ukrainian in the Black Sea and also in the Middle East – for the next day in Gaza and Turkey’s contacts with Hamas.

As it became clear during Johan Vandeful’s recent press conference with Hakan Fidan, the two sides have a common will for a comprehensive deepening of the strategic cooperation between Berlin and Ankara within the framework of the new EU security architecture (and in particular the SAFE defense program) – a field in which Greece and Cyprus, however, set red lines.

However, according to recent analyzes and estimates in the German press, the new German agenda for Turkey is “positive” and “realistic” based on, according to the so-called Vandefühl, “the interest of Germany”.